August 5 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook: “Everybody cheerful—at daylight saw the Comet in the distance on our lee—it is pleasant in this tremendous solitude to have company.” In persistent solitude, Sam recalled childhood incidents, and jotted down superstitions of his boyhood days. Among these:
Wash face in rain water standing on fresh cow dung to remove freckles.
Wash hands in rain water standing in old rotten hollow stump to remove warts. Stick pin in wart, get blood, then stick in another boy will transfer your warts to him. Split a bean, bind it on wart, wait till midnight & bury at X roads in dark of the moon. Niggers tie wool up with thread, to keep witches from riding them.

Sam continued the letter he began July 30. Afternoon—We had preaching on the quarter-deck by Rev. Mr. Rising, of Virginia City, old friend of mine. Spread a flag on the booby-hatch, which made a very good pulpit…I am leader of the choir on this ship & a sorry lead it is. I hope they will have a better opinion of the music in Heaven than I have down here. If they don’t a thunderbolt will come down & knock the vessel endways [MTL 1: 352].